There are certain dates I remember particularly well.  There was one date, a very particular January 1^st, which I remember.  I remember being shocked, reading in the news that only the day before, on New Year’s Eve, a young promising man of color had been shot to death by the police.  This young man had left behind a family, many friends, and a distraught and angry community.  The shooting had happened only a few cities away from me, and the young man posed no immediate threat to anybody, including the police.

 The young man’s name was Michael Cho – shot to death by La Habra Police on the New Year’s Eve of 2007.  It was a loss that rocked the Korean American community of Orange County.  Michael Cho was a highly educated man, an alumni of UC Los Angeles.  He was described as peaceful, and good-natured.

 He was shot and killed outside of corner store, walking slightly away from the police, carrying a tire iron.  He walked with a severe limp from a leg disability.  The police fired ten shots.

 I will admit that I have little to do directly with the Oscar Grant case.  I am not African American, nor do I live close to the communities which he was killed.  But when I hear his story, a promising young man of color, also a father, shot while he was restrained against a wall – I think of Michael Cho.  Michael Cho was shot 15 minutes away from where I attend college.  Michael Cho could have been me.  Then, I deeply understand the anger and the pain of those in Oscar Grant’s community.

 Asian Pacific Islanders should not only care about Oscar Grant because horrible acts of police violence also happen in our community.  We should care about Oscar Grant because those horrible acts of police violence could also happen to us, and our loved ones.  We should care about the Oscar Grant case because acts of police violence have happened to our loved ones. And we should care because it is not right that these acts happen to others.

 When Michael Cho died, 1^st generation parents in Southern California looked at each other and said “This could have been my kid.”  At the very heart of it, Asian Pacific Islanders need to care about the Oscar Grant and Michael Cho because it means that two parents lost their son.  A daughter lost her father.  And a community lost its sense of safety.  And many friends lost a loved one.